Girls Weekend

So still recovering from a great weekend!

Friday night girls traveled in from all over Hubei province and we started the weekend thinking about what it means to be an ideal woman. After catching up with old friends, finding places for 40+ girls to sleep in our homes, and relieved that Lucy walked up (I was already sorting out in my head how to figure out to call her mom and tell her that we have not talked in over a week...) the Yichang women went to bed ready for a new day.

Saturday morning after waking up early to make/invent soup (much to the dismay of Brad who so graciously slept on the couch of our Yichang host headquarters) and deliver bags of muffins and loaves of homemade breads,all the girls got together to discuss what it meant to be a virtuous woman. Scattered throughout the weekend we handed out fab door prizes (thanks Sandra!), had fun singing (yea Amy!) and got caught up in some general silliness (one word...Barbie!) In the afternoon, we had some free time where girls went out to explore the city. We were able to share in our newly expanded foreign foods section of our supermarket. PTL! In the evening we gathered for a banquet and then finished the night talking about a woman of wisdom. This time we crawled into bed after making it through maybe 10 minutes of Maverick.
Sunday morning waking up even earlier, we once again went through bags of muffins and the best pumpkin bread (Brad the Baker strikes again...) We talked about what it means to be a woman who surpasses them all and how great it will be to be able to lay crowns down at the throne one day. We took supper together and felt renewed. The girls packed up, got on buses and trains, and went home thinking Yichang has perfect weather and that we are pulled together.

Looking back, I don't think the retreat could have gone much better. Everyone chipped in from Yichang to make sure all aspects were covered. Cloud seeding might have even been involved. We made some really sweet new friends and were encouraged by the Growth of some since last year. So tired yes, but absolutely happy.